Ella Hunt released her debut album three days after her new television series premiered. She did not plan it that way.
The 28-year-old British actress and singer launched Blindspot on June 5, just days after the June 2 premiere of Not Suitable For Work, Mindy Kaling's 20-something comedy on Hulu. Hunt plays AJ Pascarelli in the series, which is set in Manhattan's Murray Hill neighborhood and follows young people navigating life in the city, in a style The Hollywood Reporter described as Friends-esque.
The album release date had been locked in months earlier, a requirement when dealing with vinyl production schedules. The show was originally expected to premiere in May, which would have given Hunt a clearer window to focus on the music rollout. When the premiere date shifted, the overlap became unavoidable.
"When I found out that the show was pushing its dates, I just have had to embrace that this rollout doesn't look the way that maybe it would look if I wasn't promoting the show," Hunt told The Hollywood Reporter during a Zoom interview that week in June. "But I'm really grateful to both things and I love both things, obviously in very different capacities."
Hunt described the week as unlike anything she had experienced before. "I'm used to having a moment to breathe when I put something out," she said. "This week has had a whole wave of newness to it that I've not experienced before. Where normally I would take a step back to go water my garden and sit with my cats and take in people responding to the work I've done. I'm not in that place yet."
Despite the chaos, she said she is proud of herself for managing both simultaneously, describing it as "spinning both of the central plates" in her life at the same time.
Hunt has been paying attention to how audiences receive new music versus new television, and she noticed a difference in what seems to land. "I'm really noticing that the emphasis is on a very different kind of thing, including things that feel homemade and personal and immediate," she said. "With both the show and the album, I'm super aware that actually nothing could be more impactful than just being honest about where I'm at today."
On the acting side, joining the Mindy Kaling universe was a draw. "Being part of the Mindy-verse was exciting to me," she said. The show's writers gave her detailed, specific material to work with for the character of AJ from early in the process.
Blindspot is out now. Not Suitable For Work is streaming on Hulu.
